Offense gets upper hand on Wisconsin early
INDIANAPOLIS — By halftime of Saturday night’s Big Ten championship game, Ohio State already had done a number on Wisconsin’s defense.
With J. T. Barrett running the show, the Buckeyes had rolled up 309 yards. The Badgers went in giving up an average of just 236.9 per game, No. 1 in the nation.
Wisconsin also was No. 1 in rush defense with an average of just 80.5 yards per game. But freshman running back J.K. Dobbins almost hit that with his 77- yard run that set up the Buckeyes’ third touchdown on the way to a 21- 10 lead at the break.
With 90 yards rushing overall in the half, Dobbins increased his season total to 1,280, pushing past Maurice Clarett ( 1,237 in 2002) for the most rushing yards ever by an OSU freshman. Dobbins already was one of just four OSU freshmen to top 1,000 yards.
Coming home
The game represented a homecoming for Ohio State receiver Terry McLaurin, a fourth- year junior who grew up in Indianapolis.
“Obviously, you can’t overlook being from Indianapolis and growing up 15 minutes from Lucas Oil (Stadium),” McLaurin said. “It’s very exciting that I’ll be able to play in front of some of my closest family and friends.”
And they got to see him early. McLaurin caught an 84-yard touchdown pass from Barrett with 6: 31 remaining in the first quarter to give the Buckeyes a 7-0 lead. This was his first game at the stadium as an active player.
He redshirted in 2014 when Ohio State crushed Wisconsin 59-0.
“I was there as a freshman and got to witness what happened,” he said, “and just the atmosphere of the Big Ten championship and championship football in general is very exciting.”
McLaurin is one of three Indiana natives playing for Ohio State. McLaurin and freshman linebacker Pete Werner are both Indianapolis Cathedral products. Sophomore wide receiver Austin Mack is from Fort Wayne. Wisconsin only thinking opportunity
Wisconsin players could have chips on their shoulders weighing as much as, well, Bucky Badger because the team didn’t crack the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time until this past week despite being undefeated.
The team’s strength of schedule is 45th nationally, and that ranks behind fellow Big Ten teams Ohio State ( third), Iowa ( ninth), Michigan ( 17th), Purdue ( 29th), Northwestern ( 30th), Maryland ( 32th), Nebraska (37th) and Indiana ( 42th).
During the news conference on Monday, the selected players talked only about getting a chance to win the conference championship against Ohio State and not a “we’ll-showyou" mindset.
“I think it’s another great opportunity to prove that we are legit, that we are the team that we think we are," tight end Troy Fumagalli said.
The Badgers don’t mind being called a blue- collar team. Fumagalli used the term “lunch pail."
Linebacker T. J. Edwards said the players have never felt slighted.
“We can’t really control what anyone else is saying about us or anything like that," Edwards said. “But I know we’re playing a very good team. All we care about is beating them and playing our best game against them. We can’t control anything else that happens. All we can do is focus on the goal at hand.”
Cornerback Derrick Tindal said, “I’m not too much worried about what people think."
Taylor: Championship over Heisman
Wisconsin freshman tailback Jonathan Taylor is in the Heisman Trophy conversation for having run for 1,806 yards to rank third nationally going into Saturday's game.
“I feel as though every kid growing up has envisioned themselves winning the Heisman," he said. “Now that the talk is going around, I feel as though ( that vision) is less and less because I’ve got to be more focused on the team."
Taylor, who is from Salem, New Jersey, said it has benefited him to talk only when asking questions and listening to coaches and teammates.
“One of the biggest things coming in was just absorbing as much information as possible and just making sure that whenever or if my number was called at all, that I was ready," he said.
“All the hype this year, that’s going to come with the game of football. But I feel as though my teammates have done a great job of keeping me levelheaded."